By Rick Karlin
ALBANY – A broad coalition including environmentalists as well as biofuel, electric vehicle and other alternative transportation companies, are urging the Cuomo Administration to adopt a Low Carbon Fuel Credit that would help them, but would require traditional fuel firms such as diesel or gasoline suppliers to purchase carbon credits going forward.
Similar in some ways to a carbon tax, the Credit aims to incentivize the faster adoption of electric vehicles and clean fuels. That would be an important move in light of the state’s large transportation sector and the push to reduce greenhouse gases.
“It provides incentives for them,” Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said of fuel and transportation industry players.
The state’s new Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act calls for aggressive reductions in carbon emissions, which scientists say are aggravating global warming. And transportation – trucks, buses, cars, trains, and planes – are a major source of greenhouses gases.
As a result, policymakers want to adopt more electric or clean vehicles. That’s expensive, however, especially when it comes to large organizations like bus systems.
Electric buses recently purchased by the Capital District Transportation Authority, for example, cost about $900,000 compared to $500,000 for a traditional diesel model. Lower operating costs, including savings on fuel and maintenance, do narrow that gap somewhat.
“The reality is that transit agencies will seek state assistance to fund the transition of more than 1,400 buses to all-electric at a time when the State is facing budget shortfalls,” reads part of the letter, referring to upstate bus services like CDTA.
Continue reading or download the full article HERE. You can also download the Coalition’s letter to Governor Cuomo.
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